Welcome to our website !
Please scroll down to find out more about what we can offer you
and the background of our company, founded in 1965 but still dedicated to bring you
the most innovative instruments with our focus on detail and quality. !!
Services
We are pleased to provide you with the following services :
We focus on the production, sales and export of:
- Innovacelli Barometers (mercury free barometers)
- Professional mercury free Innovacelli Barometers
- Innovacelli design barometers
- Eco-celli barometers
- Antique and vintage barometers
- Mechanical barometers (aneroid barometer Vidi barometer)
- Adie barometer (Tendency-barometers – gas barometers)
- Weather stations (meteo stations)
- Fitzroy bottle storm (storm barometers)
- Galileo thermometers (thermometers)
- Humidity Meters (psychrometers)
- Design Clocks & Glass clocks (quartz clocks)
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Restoration and repair of
antique an vintage barometers:
- Innovacelli barometers
- Kontra (Contra) barometers
- Huygens barometers
- Torricelli barometers
- Fortin barometers
- Banjo barometers
- Admiral Fitzroy barometers
- Robert Hook barometers
- Alexander Adie barometers
- Weather stations
- Thermometers
- Hygrometers
- Fitzroy stormbottles
Restoration and repair of antique and vintage clocks :
- Quartz clocks
- Quarts clocks with pendulum
- Grandfather clocks
- Mechanical clocks
- Hall clocks
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60 years of experience
Denis Dingens founded the company in 1965 together with his wife Gussy. With his background as a watchmaker and instrument maker in the aircraft industry in Australia, he shifted his focus to developing and commercialsing his own barometer designs.
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With the moral support of the immense popular national weatherman, Armand Pien. Carrying his name, as brandname, the company became very successful in Belgium and the neighboring countries during the first 25 years.
The Dingens brand goes world wide.
Over the course of those first decades, consumer lifestyles and tastes changed. After the founders passed the torch on to the next generation in the late 80's,
The "Dingens" brand name guaranteed craftsmanship of high-quality barometers. With the establishment in the 90's of our own glass blowing workshop, wood and glass processing, unique instruments were developed and sold to the furthest corners of the world. The brand became known from the United States and Canada to Russia and Japan.
The Christiaan Huygens Barometer
In the seventeenth century, science flourished like never before. There is a scientific revolution going on with Christiaan Huygens ( 1629 - 1695) as an important player.
He does not only design the pendulum clock, among many other inventions. But he also came up with a new idea for a barometer : the Contra barometer.
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This barometer has a much larger scale then the existing single tube barometers, and is much more user friendly.
Dingens reintroduced this 17th century invention and made high-quality precision barometers that were loved worldwide by people with an interest in technology, science and culture.
The Eu commission bans the mercury barometer.
Without any prior warning, the German EU Commissioner Verheugen decided in 2007 that Huygens barometers should be banned. Although no legal mandatory procedure was followed, the EU parliament approved this. Instruments with a lifespan of centuries should be replaced by yearly disposable digital barometers.
This was even based on a report with complete fake information. Just one example out of many : a Torricelli Barometer contains approximately 8 - 10 grams of mercury. However, the EU report wrote down 12 kg... 12 000 gr in their report. Nevertheless, the artisanal family businesses cannot defend themselfves against such a powerful political organization.
The production of new Huygens barometer was banned.
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A few days later, that same parlaiment voted the mercury containing lightbulb to be mandatory.
The development of
the Innovacelli Barometer
In 2008, Paul Dingens started developing a new concept. The aim was achieving an identical accuracy and durability to that of the mercury barometer, but this had to be accompanied by a high standard of user-friendliness for the customers. The design of the new instrument had to had to be infallible in order to optimally
serve an export market.
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45 years of experience have resulted in a new product: the Innovacelli. The durability is tested by Hasselt University. The Innovacelli is easy to handle and very ecological.
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The design of this new instrument lends itself to creating new contemporary concepts that fit into any interior. The instruments can be adapted to both modern and more classical styles.
The Innovacelli barometer
for professional users
The accuracy of the Innovacelli is so high that they also find their way into laboratories and oncology departments in hospitals. For this purpose, the instruments are tested by an external laboratory that then issues an accreditation certificate.
The possibilities for these instruments are there, but as a SME it's a challenge to bring the new instrument to such an international market.
During the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, the Innovacelli is presented as an ecological alternative to the 400-year-old mercury barometer.
Bringing the Innovacelli on the market.
In past decades, we have also worked as an OEM supplier to European clock manufacturers. We developed and produced clocks for some well known brands.
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In 2013 we found a permanent saleslocation in Yorkshire from which to serve the UK market.
In the United States, Canada and India, Pakistan, etc., the Innovacelli Barometers found their way to professional customers, such as oncology departments, laboratories, etc.
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However, it was mainly the consequences of the EU ban remained a heavy burden to bear, forcing our company to significantly downsize to meet those challenges..
Back to basics
The past few years have once again been particularly challenging for many companies, including ours. Not at least because of Covid and Brexit, but also because of the addiction many European consumers have for cheap Chinese disposable products. Almost the entire production of these typical European instruments is now based in China, leaving hardly any European company still active. ​
​​As a small company you cannot go against a trend like this. Therefore we have decided to put our focus back on the ways and values ​​with which we once started
many decades ago. Back to basics, working as a craft studio.
With a small but highly specialized production of Innovacelli barometers, where we put design and quality as
our main focus.​
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( Paul and Denis Dingens 1987)
Celebrating our 60 year
anniversary in 2025
In 2025 it will be 60 years since the start, .. not many companies reach such a milestone.
Adapting to new circumstances is crucial to survive in any sector. Where in the past we have tried to serve a wider audience, we are now making a different choice. We focus on the added value seeker, with an interest in science, technology, design, culture, .. to sell our instruments in a limited edition. Each instrument is completely handmade and tested in our workshop. If you are looking for a special item for yourself or gift, then a "Dingens" barometer is definitely recommended !!
In addition, restorations of antique and vintage instruments remain an important part of our work. Buying and selling barometers and clocks are part of our activities.
The restoration of clocks is also receiving more attention now than ever before. Please do not hesitate to contact us, when your clock is in need of service.
Dingens offers technical support to polar expeditions.
One of the world's most acclaimed polar explorers is Belgian Dixie Dansercoer. (1962 - 2021) Together with Alain Hubert he traveled across Antarctica in 1997-1998. They covered almost 3,932 kilometers with a power kite in 99 days, a record.
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He undertook numerous expeditions in the following decades, including the longest voyage in Antarctica. In 2012, Dansercoer went to East Antarctica with medical student Sam Deltour. The two broke the world record for the longest unsupplied and non-motorized expedition in Antarctica. In 74 days they covered at least 5,013 kilometers on skis and with a kite.
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We have been given the unique chance to provide technical support to his expeditions during the preparations.
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In 2021, Dixie had a fatal accident during an expedition in Greenland. We have the most beautiful memories of him as one of the most admirable people. His mental strength is unforgettable and will always remain a great source of inspiration.
